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Lauren E. Rico | Classical Love

May 16, 2017

Iím not a writer.

Well, thatís not exactly true, clearly, because here Iíve just written a book. I
suppose what Iím trying to say is that I have trouble self-identifying as a
writer after so many years in my current career...Classical Music Radio DJ.

Huh?

I used to say Classical Music Host, but no one got it. Then I said
Classical Music DJ, but then someone asked me ďSo, what kind of parties
do you hire a classical music DJ for?Ē Thatís when I started throwing in the
word Ďradioí to distinguish myself from the guys who throw giant sunglasses and
inflatable bananas at the crowd of a wedding reception while playing the
Electric Slide.

So, what is it, exactly, that I do do?

Iím on the radio. I play a piece of classical music, I talk about it, I play
another one. Lather, rinse, repeat. Though, to be fair, itís a lot more
interesting than that. I go out of my way to talk about the composers and
performers in a way that makes them relevant to people who listen today. And, I
suppose, this is where my inclination to write comes from. I like to tell
stories. Interesting stories, filled with interesting characters...like Franz
Liszt, the piano-playing hottie who thought he was every girlís dream. He had
two pianos put on stage when he played, so he could get up and switch sides
halfway through the concert, giving the audience a view of his other profile.

Oh, and thereís no shortage of love stories in classical music...

Like Clara Schumann who was devoted to her husband, the great composer Robert
Schumann. Unfortunately, Robert suffered from mental illness and it was a
tremendous strain on their relationship. Thankfully their dear friend and
equally great composer Johannes Brahms was there to comfort Clara in those
difficult days. And while thereís long been speculation over whether they ďdidĒ
or ďdidnít,Ē itís been a one of classical musicís enduring love triangles for
centuries.

The story of Franz Joseph Haydn and his wife is more of a cautionary tale with
the moral being: donít make any big decisions when youíve just suffered a loss.
Uh-huh.

When the love of his life ran off to a convent, the girlís father took advantage
of the stunned and heart broken Franz Joseph and pawned off on him his
other daughter...an ill-tempered shrew who hated him and hated his
music. On more than one occasion he found sheíd shredded his musical
compositions to use as curlers in her hair or to line her cake tins with.

Oh! And have you heard the story of Zenta? She wasnít a composeróshe wasnít even
real. Zenta is the main female role in the opera The Flying Dutchman by
Richard Wagner. Poor Zenta fell in love with a guy in a picture. Hey, it
happens, right? Match, Tinder, etc., etc. Only problem was the guy she fell in
love with was already dead. Ewwww! Not like THAT! Iím just saying she
fell in love with a ghost. Which was unfortunate, considering there was only one
way they were going to be together...and letís just say he wasnít coming back to
life.

Okay, so maybe, all things considered, I should be self-identifying as a writer.
After all, Iíve been telling romantic stories about quirky characters for longer
than I realized. Thatís how the writing got into the music. But how did the
music get into the writing?

Iíve had a lot of fun setting my books in the world of classical music.
Musicians, conductors, chamber ensembles, orchestras, singers...theyíve all
found their way into my novels as characters. Sometimes theyíre on stage,
sometimes theyíre in college. Thatís the case with my new novel, SOLO. Itís set in the music
department of a small university in the North Carolina Mountains.

Kate is a graduate conducting student. Drew is her orchestration professor. Heís
haunted by a tragic loss in his past. She struggles with the burden of surviving
on her own, with no financial or emotional support from her father. When theyíre
together, Kate and Drew bring out the worst in one another.

But when they find themselves stranded together in a blizzard, under some very
trying circumstances, they come to see that thingsóand peopleóarenít always as
they seem.

Hah! Well how do you like that? A plot worthy of an opera! And donít worry,
thereís classical music in Solo, but itís a far cry from dry and dull...more
like Bach and Beethoven with a side of twisty and steamy, thank you very much!

When graduate student Katherine Brenner walked into my class, I couldn't
stand her -- all perfect skin and big, blue eyes -- just like the woman who
broke my heart.

If it wasn't for that blizzard, if her car hadn't broken down outside my
house, if she hadn't looked amazing by the firelight, I never would have kissed
her. No matter how hard I try, every excuse I make not to see her comes up flat.

I can't stop thinking of her lips. Or the way her curves fit perfectly in my
hands. There's a million reasons why this won't work. I'm her professor. It's
against university policy.